[Meshaboo]

Hello everyone! This was my first time modding the A55 and I was super excited! I've only strictly been able to use bluetooth for almost a year now because my audio jack is loose/broken. So, I've been bummed that I couldn't use my wired headphones. I guess it works out because I have the WHXM4's.

I installed the mod using a trial version of Windows on my Mac (noob, again) and did have lots of trouble. Somehow someway, I was able to get Midnight installed, and I also apparently installed the Plus v1/v2 tuning. I'm a little confused because the A55 settings says I did install it, but the boot log says I did not. It also says the whole player is pretty much in "normal" mode... all the custom settings and everything. Thoughts?

Regardless, the mod WORKED because the sound is blowing my mind! It sounds phenomenal to me! I'm about to try v2, as I've strictly been using v1 for the past 4 days. edit*** I def prefer v1

I do have a few questions, though:

What exactly is Bluetooth Remote? What's the purpose? How does it differ from the Bluetooth Receiver?
What are the differences in regions? My default says MX3. Is there a "better" region to choose from?

That's all I have for now. Thank you very much!

 

[nc8000]

Hello everyone! This was my first time modding the A55 and I was super excited! I've only strictly been able to use bluetooth for almost a year now because my audio jack is loose/broken. So, I've been bummed that I couldn't use my wired headphones. I guess it works out because I have the WHXM4's.

I installed the mod using a trial version of Windows on my Mac (noob, again) and did have lots of trouble. Somehow someway, I was able to get Midnight installed, and I also apparently installed the Plus v1/v2 tuning. I'm a little confused because the A55 settings says I did install it, but the boot log says I did not. It also says the whole player is pretty much in "normal" mode... all the custom settings and everything. Thoughts?

Regardless, the mod WORKED because the sound is blowing my mind! It sounds phenomenal to me! I'm about to try v2, as I've strictly been using v1 for the past 4 days. edit*** I def prefer v1

I do have a few questions, though:

What exactly is Bluetooth Remote? What's the purpose? How does it differ from the Bluetooth Receiver?
What are the differences in regions? My default says MX3. Is there a "better" region to choose from?

That's all I have for now. Thank you very much!

BT remote is a physical remote control unit that Sony makes and is usually only available to buy in Japan and for J region.

The regions each have slightly different sound signature based on Sony’s perception of people prefered sound in those areas. MX3 is a good one to start with but you should try some of the others like E or J to see what you prefer. The regions also control availability of some festures like the BT remote.

You should try setting Plus mode to 2 and alternative dac mode to 1 in the ini file (no space before or after the = or after the value).

Which tuning did you install after installing the fw ?

 

[MrWalkman]

Hello everyone! This was my first time modding the A55 and I was super excited! I've only strictly been able to use bluetooth for almost a year now because my audio jack is loose/broken. So, I've been bummed that I couldn't use my wired headphones. I guess it works out because I have the WHXM4's.

I installed the mod using a trial version of Windows on my Mac (noob, again) and did have lots of trouble. Somehow someway, I was able to get Midnight installed, and I also apparently installed the Plus v1/v2 tuning. I'm a little confused because the A55 settings says I did install it, but the boot log says I did not. It also says the whole player is pretty much in "normal" mode... all the custom settings and everything. Thoughts?

Regardless, the mod WORKED because the sound is blowing my mind! It sounds phenomenal to me! I'm about to try v2, as I've strictly been using v1 for the past 4 days. edit*** I def prefer v1

I do have a few questions, though:

What exactly is Bluetooth Remote? What's the purpose? How does it differ from the Bluetooth Receiver?
What are the differences in regions? My default says MX3. Is there a "better" region to choose from?

That's all I have for now. Thank you very much!

Plus v1/v2 is not a tuning.

The tunings can be installed in the same way you installed Midnight v2, after you install Midnight v2.

Mass storage mode needs to be enabled on the player in order for the tuning installation to work.

You can find more info about the installation and the Plus modes, on the firmware's page.

If you don't install an external tuning, your preferences in the settings file will not be loaded (except the region). This was done exactly to motivate people to finish the installation as intended.

 

[Excavation]

Seems like ive found my best settings for my A55, at least until dawn comes. The sound is just so pristine. I never thought my IEMs or the DAP itself could sound this good.

Everything about it just has this perfect balance.

 

[MrWalkman]

at least until dawn comes

The next update will be the "Walkman One" firmware (currently working on it for the 1A/Z), which include Midnight as "Warm", Dawn (v2.1, unreleased) as "Bright", the WM1Z sound as "WM1Z", and "Neutral" as kind of a middle point between "Warm" and "Bright". "WM1Z" will be the default sound signature.

I'll keep only the Project Z and the FEv2 tunings - the 4 modes will have each one their own tuning.

I'm also trying to make it so settings are being kept between sound signature changes. Hopefully that will work well.

 

[Meshaboo]

Plus v1/v2 is not a tuning.

The tunings can be installed in the same way you installed Midnight v2, after you install Midnight v2.

Mass storage mode needs to be enabled on the player in order for the tuning installation to work.

You can find more info about the installation and the Plus modes, on the firmware's page.

If you don't install an external tuning, your preferences in the settings file will not be loaded (except the region). This was done exactly to motivate people to finish the installation as intended.

Thank you for the reply. This is where i'm confused because I did go through the process of *attempting* to install the Project Z tuning, and it did look like it worked, and the A55 is at least telling me that I have the tuning installed in the device's unit information. And inn the settings log I do see all of the other preferences loaded (gain, dac, plus mode, etc.). But the boot log is where it's saying I didn't have the tuning.

So, I just tried to install the tuning firmware again and it all appeared successful, yet it's the same issue. Settings file has everything, unit info says I'm in Plus v1 mode, but the boot log says everything is still "normal" and I don't have any tuning installed.

 

[MrWalkman]

Thank you for the reply. This is where i'm confused because I did go through the process of *attempting* to install the Project Z tuning, and it did look like it worked, and the A55 is at least telling me that I have the tuning installed in the device's unit information. And inn the settings log I do see all of the other preferences loaded (gain, dac, plus mode, etc.). But the boot log is where it's saying I didn't have the tuning.

So, I just tried to install the tuning firmware again and it all appeared successful, yet it's the same issue. Settings file has everything, unit info says I'm in Plus v1 mode, but the boot log says everything is still "normal" and I don't have any tuning installed.

Doesn't it say in the Unit Information menu "External tuning not applied!"?

If you don't apply an external tuning, it will say that in the boot log file, and in the Unit Information menu.

I don't see it as an issue if you just install the firmware and not an external tuning as well

Applying an external tuning works in the same way as installing the firmware.

The external tuning part is mentioned in the installation instructions on the website (step 3):

 

[Meshaboo]

Doesn't it say in the Unit Information menu "External tuning not applied!"?

If you don't apply an external tuning, it will say that in the boot log file, and in the Unit Information menu.

I don't see it as an issue if you just install the firmware and not an external tuning as well

Applying an external tuning works in the same way as installing the firmware.

The external tuning part is mentioned in the installation instructions on the website (step 3):

Nope! It just says "Midnight. v2 (for A50) - Plus v1 mode firmware mod by MrWalkman".


I've followed all of that, and kept checking in case I missed something. Should I revert to stock and try it all over again?

 

[MrWalkman]

I've followed all of that, and kept checking in case I missed something. Should I revert to stock and try it all over again?

I guess so, but are you applying the external tuning or not? Could you share your boot log file please?

 

[Meshaboo]

I guess so, but are you applying the external tuning or not? Could you share your boot log file please?

That's what I've been trying to do this whole time, make sure I correctly applied the external tuning (Project Z).

Sure thing, the first screenshot is from the beginning of the file and the second is from a few moments ago.

 

[MrWalkman]

That's what I've been trying to do this whole time, make sure I correctly applied the external tuning (Project Z).

Sure thing, the first screenshot is from the beginning of the file and the second is from a few moments ago.

From the screenshot from a few moments ago, it looks like you applied an external tuning and all is fine (aka all your chosen settings are being applied accordingly).

 

[Meshaboo]

From the screenshot from a few moments ago, it looks like you applied an external tuning and all is fine (aka all your chosen settings are being applied accordingly).

Ah okay! Interesting. Like i said, total noob here. I was concerned that i messed up somewhere thank you so much for your help!

What exactly is Bluetooth Remote? What's the purpose? How does it differ from the Bluetooth Receiver?
What are the differences in regions? My default says MX3. Is there a "better" region to choose from?

The only other questions I have left are my ones from my original post.

Thank you!

 

[MrWalkman]

Ah okay! Interesting. Like i said, total noob here. I was concerned that i messed up somewhere thank you so much for your help!

The only other questions I have left are my ones from my original post.

Thank you!

What exactly is Bluetooth Remote? What's the purpose? How does it differ from the Bluetooth Receiver?
What are the differences in regions? My default says MX3. Is there a "better" region to choose from?

The Bluetooth Remote is this one: https://www.sony.com.tw/en/electronics/walkman-digital-music-players-accessories/rmt-nws20

When using regions other than J or E, for example, you won't see the option to use this remote in the player's UI. With that BT Remote setting set to 1 (On), you will see that option regardless of what region you set in the settings file.

I added the name of the remote in the settings file for the future Walkman One firmware.

Differences in regions include different bass/mids/treble/soundstage presentation. Basically, Sony makes the player sound slightly different depending in which region is that player being sold. The theory is that people in a region prefer the sound to be in a certain way.

I'm not sure there is necessarily a best region, as each one of us listens differently and has different preferences. At the moment I use MX3, though I used the J region a lot in the past.

 

[aceedburn]

That's what I've been trying to do this whole time, make sure I correctly applied the external tuning (Project Z).

Sure thing, the first screenshot is from the beginning of the file and the second is from a few moments ago.

Tuning was applied successfully. The log file lines continue each time you boot so you should only look at the most recent entry which will be at the bottom. Don’t worry about the earlier entries.

 

[Meshaboo]

The Bluetooth Remote is this one: https://www.sony.com.tw/en/electronics/walkman-digital-music-players-accessories/rmt-nws20

When using regions other than J or E, for example, you won't see the option to use this remote in the player's UI. With that BT Remote setting set to 1 (On), you will see that option regardless of what region you set in the settings file.

I added the name of the remote in the settings file for the future Walkman One firmware.



Differences in regions include different bass/mids/treble/soundstage presentation. Basically, Sony makes the player sound slightly different depending in which region is that player being sold. The theory is that people in a region prefer the sound to be in a certain way.

I'm not sure there is necessarily a best region, as each one of us listens differently and has different preferences. At the moment I use MX3, though I used the J region a lot in the past.

Got it, thank you so much! I'll play around with the regions later today. Appreciate your time!